The present invention relates to cheesecakes and, more particularly, to a dry mix which, when admixed and agitated with milk, provides a stable, set, sugar-free filling for preparation of cheesecake without need for heating or cooking.
Cookbooks abound with recipes for preparation of cheesecake fillings, and perhaps no other prepared food product exists in so many and varied formulations and textural/physical characteristics under a single name. In general, however, basic formulations include cream cheese and auxiliary components which can be transformed into a dense compact filling or, through excessive air incorporation during mixing and/or folding in of a whipped cream or beaten egg white component, into a lighter more aerated texture. To produce a sufficiently stable structure to serve as a filling, particularly for the lighter aerated products, many recipes call for inclusion of eggs or egg whites and a baking step to coagulate and set the egg proteins, and/or call for use of agents such as gelatin.
As with a variety of other food products, manufacturers have become attuned to the need to provide the consumer with a cheesecake product whose preparation is not so involved or time-consuming as traditional recipes, yet which is closely similar to a homemade product in taste and texture. One obvious route to this goal is the provision of a fully-prepared cheesecake in frozen form, requiring only a defrosting period before serving. Problems are encountered by manufacturers and consumers alike with such products, however, in terms of required storage conditions and storage space.
The provision of a dry mix composition which can be hydrated by the consumer to form a cheesecake filling offers significant possibilities in terms of consumer convenience, ease of shipping and storage, and shelf-life, and compositions of this type have been described in the prior art (see, e.g., U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,455,698 and 4,427,709) and have been manufactured and sold commercially. Generally, such products contain a substantial quantity of granular sugar, lesser amounts of dried milk solids, a powdered fat component (which can be in association with an emulsifier and protein source as an overall whippable component), and a source of cheese solids and/or cheese flavor. A "no-bake" aspect can be built into such products through inclusion of a suitable cold-temperature gelation system such as the phosphate gelling agents developed for instant pudding products which react with milk proteins to form gels. Starch thickeners also may be employed for attainment of a desired texture.
Dietetic and other concerns also have led to the desirability of providing dry mix compositions which can be hydrated to produce sugar-free cheesecake fillings. Mixes of the no-bake variety are of particular interest in this regard, since a currently preferred non-sugar sweetening agent, aspartame, cannot be employed in baked products. However, notwithstanding the ready availability of non-sugar sweetening agents to the food formulator, the provision of a dry mix of this type which produces a completely acceptable sugar-free filling has been found to involve a number of difficult technical problems. The identification and solution of these problems, as set forth in detail hereinafter, form the basis for the present invention and result in the provision of a highly acceptable dry mix composition and cheesecake filling.